Ottawa, Dec 1 (IANS): Canada's job vacancies declined by 40,700, or 6.1 per cent, to 632,200 in September, continuing the steady downward trend from the peak of just over 1 million reached in May 2022, according to the national statistical agency.

Statistics Canada said that the country's job vacancies in September were at their lowest level since February 2021, and total labour demand, which corresponds to the sum of filled and vacant positions, declined for the third consecutive month, Xinhua news agency reported.

The job vacancy rate, which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand, decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.6 per cent in September, the lowest level since January 2021, the national statistical agency said.

The number of unfilled positions decreased in four sectors: accommodation and food services, construction, finance and insurance, and public administration.

These decreases were partially offset by more vacancies in educational services, and information and cultural industries, it added.

There were 1.9 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in September, up from 1.8 in August and 1.2 at the start of the year.

The increase in the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was driven by fewer vacancies, as the number of unemployed persons was little changed in September, Statistics Canada said.